Columbia Law School recently stoked controversy by introducing a short video submission as part of their application requirements. The response on social media and various news outlets was swift. Many accused Columbia Law of exploiting this requirement to bypass the ruling of the Roberts Court that effectively overturned affirmative action recruitment.
In response, it’s essential to highlight that Columbia Law is far from the only institute to incorporate video elements into their admissions process. Sources like Law.com have cited examples of similar practices in multiple other schools.
An admissions policy at Vanderbilt Law School requires that all binding early decision candidates complete a video essay. Similarly, the University of Tennessee Knoxville College of Law requires a five- to 10-minute online interview as part of the application, as found on their website. The idea behind these requirements aims to know applicants beyond their LSAT scores, GPA and other standard application components.
Critics might argue that these schools implemented such policies to create a veil of legitimacy for video submissions once affirmative action got overturned. However, it’s plausible that these schools individually concluded that videos offer an additional layer of insight and understanding of the applicants beyond traditional application materials. Columbia seems to be at the receiving end of the flak perhaps due to the unfortunate timing of the decision than the decision itself.
Many raised the argument, “What can a video do that a letter can’t?”. While it may have been odd for Columbia to withdraw the video requirement amidst backlash, video submissions could add a new dimension to the application process. Given the digital age we live in, why should we restrict applicants to the same methods employed in the 1850s? Moreover, admissions officers frequently stress that they consider each application distinctively and endeavour to get a sense of the potential student as a whole.
It’s worth noting that student videos have found a clandestine place in school applications. Many law school admissions officers scour social media profiles of applicants to evaluate their suitability. To this end, a Kaplan Test Prep study found that both 40% of them admitted to viewing social media profiles of applicants and about the same number found videos that cast a negative light on applicants. Thus, explicitly requiring a video for admission might just provide the applicant with better control over their image.
If Columbia Law were aiming to skirt around the ruling on affirmative action, it would be unlikely that they would go as far as asking for a video submission. Various other proxies are available to deduce an applicant’s race or sex.